Instructor:

Richard Lee (Office hours)

Course number:

PHIL 5983 (ISIS number: 11540)

Time:

W 3:30 p.m. - 5:50 p.m.

Room:

MAIN 422

Pre-requisites:

Graduate standing or permission of the instructor

Brief Description:

Many presume that morality inherently involves moral principles. Moral particularists come in various forms, but the common focus is a denial of the importance of general principles to morality. This seminar will focus on the moral particularism of Jonathan Dancy, specifically as elaborated in his 2004 book, Ethics Without Principles. In 2001 Brad Hooker and Margaret Little released a collection of articles on moral particularism (suitably titled Moral Particularism), some of which are critical, some of which are favorable to the view. Dancy in his 2004 book replies to nearly all the critical pieces in Moral Particularism. We will read these articles together with Dancy's replies. Those two books will be supplemented by background material by G.E. Moore, W.D. Ross, and others. This exploration will involve us in discussion of the nature of moral reasons, holism, practical reasoning, prima facie duties, organic unities, supervenience, the nature of moral principles, and more.

Texts:

• Brad Hooker & Margaret Little, editors, Moral Particularism (Oxford, 2003) ISBN: 0-19-823883-5
• Jonathan Dancy, Ethics Without Principles (Oxford, 2004) ISBN: 0199297681
• Materials available on the web

Other information:

• Course Requirements
• Important Dates
• Reading Schedule
• Policies
• Term Paper and Presentations
• Short Paper Assignments
• Anonymous comments / Questions to Teacher